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I assert that the phone records program is not clearly on sounder footing. With the transfer of its maintenance to the telecommunications companies, the option
by linkregister 10y ago
I assert that the phone records program is not clearly on sounder footing. With the transfer of its maintenance to the telecommunications companies, the option for other government agencies (e.g. FBI, DEA) to query the database was included. The bill essentially increased the breadth of the opportunity for abuse. Should we expect telecoms to pose meaningful resistance to massive records requests?
- wbl 10y agoIt's now explicitly authorized by law instead of hiding in the FISA authorization. Our elected representatives wanted it.
- linkregister 10y agoFISA didn't have anything to do with the phone records program. I agree that the majority of Congress wanted it.
- bediger4000 10y ago> Our elected representatives wanted it. Indisputable. But did a majority of the citizens want it? Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, whereas "elected representatives" right now represent some minority due to Republican state-level gerrymandering in a lot of states, and Electoral College overrepresenting sparsely-populated western states.